And the Oscar goes to.....

Well, I've made my decision. I've been mulling over it, (as being sick has given me plenty of free time to think about it), and I'm happy to announce I will be riding Kuota this year! This is the Kalibur above...But I think I will ride a Kalibur with the same paint job as the Kredo below...

Apparently, I will also be riding the new SRAM on the Kalibur, as well as on the Kup below! Should be cool!

It was not an easy decision, but Kuota made it a lot easier. My only disappointment comes from having worked so hard to get with Specialized and not seeing it materialize. I did a lot of research, and talking with people, preparing a proposal for them, etc. It really is amazing, because I had Peter Reid, Ned Overend and their biggest retailer on the west coast, as my references! All three were plugging me really well with the powers that be at Specialized, but in the end, they just didn't care enough to make any decision on things.

With BMC I almost came to an agreement, but the offer from Kuota was better, and even more importantly, Kuota really showed how much THEY WANTED ME to ride their bikes. In the end, this showed me how much they'll support me, and in this business that means A LOT! Hopefully this relationship will grow over the years. They make great bikes, and Normann Stadler and I are their only male triathletes in the Ironman World...that's pretty cool. (They sponsor a few other triathletes, like Jarrod Shoemaker and Nico Lebrun, but no other Ironman athletes.)

In case you're wondering about their mountain bikes, Nico LeBrun won the 2005 XTERRA World Title on the Kuota Kup! I will be riding it at the two XTERRA events I'll race this year.

In other news, the talk last night went great! About 30-some people showed up, including the boys of Kuota. The head guy, Patrice, was amazed how many people came. I gave out a lot of information, and it seemed to be absorbed pretty well, and I could tell from questions and reactions that I gave them valuable info. I was pretty happy with the turnout. I told Patrice he should see the upcoming California 70.3 talk I'll give, as I expect about 50-60 people to attend that one on the 15th of March, 6:15-8 PM, at the Solana Beach B+L Store. If you're doing that race, you should come, as I'll be previewing the entire event. From the time you wake up in the morning, to the post-race massage and awards, you'll know what to expect and when.

I am feeling a little better now. I was actually able to do a 40 min run this morning, about 6 miles. First thing I've done since Sunday's long run. Got on the massage table this afternoon, and if there's one thing which has come positive from this sickness, it's been able to get me healthy! My body felt great on the table, and since it's my recovery week anyway, the sickness probably couldn't have come at a better time.

Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow I'm back at it pretty good with a ride to the pool, a swim workout and then off to see my new trainer, John Swain, for my first workout with him. I'll post more on that and what we focus on. And on Monday, I'll be meeting with Roch Frey, to do a lactate test on the bike, and measure my wattage at LT. Should be cool!

Till tomorrow...

Vance - 2007 NFA

PS - Sorry about the pics being messed up...if you save the pics to your computer, you can see the full version.